OK, so today I was eating lunch with two guys that I regularly meet with to pray and study the Bible. We weren't very spiritual today, owing to the fact that we're between books of study and also enjoying the nice lull of life right after our semesters have finished. So, we were discussing the intricacies of time travel, especially logical problems with it and the interesting possibilities it could offer.
My friend brought up a very interesting question: what would you do if you could go back to the time prior to Hitler's rise to power and, knowing all that he would do in his life, had the chance to kill him before any of it could happen? Would you do it or leave things as they historically happened?
There are all sorts of things that a person might say here, but I think I'll leave it up to you from here. So, please share your opinion.
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8 comments:
Wow, what a question! No, I wouldn't kill Hitler because murder is prohibited in the commandments. I would try to convert him to true Christianity, though.
Isn't there some story about Hitler getting denied from art school or something, but that art was really his passion? I'd say, find the art school guy and get Hitler accepted. Then maybe we'd watch a movie called Hitler's Code (fictitious, of course, unlike WWII movies).
I think I would agree with the above comments. 1. Figure out what made the turn in his life (denial of his art and other things in his past), and 2. Share the gospel. I wouldn't kill him, but I have to admit I might give bribes (to art school) or manipulate situations to keep his rise to power from happening.
Interesting ideas - I especially like the idea of sharing the Gospel with the man. If that wouldn't have changed things, likely nothing would.
Interestingly, people have put some thought into this question. The concept of sending an assassin back in time has been utilized in books and games. However, in most cases, these fictional accounts arrive at the same realization that something worse may have happened than even Hitler. In one game I know of, the whole of history is changed and a titanic struggle occurs between the West and the Soviet Union, which almost certainly would have been much stronger and lasted much longer without the deaths of some 20+ million Soviet citizens in WWII.
Of course there are problems with time travel, and I mean logical ones not just technological, but the real problem is the idea of using assassination to fix a problem. The truth is, most of the time, the enemy you know is better than they one you don't. We are seeing this in Iraq right now.
I think Carolyn mentioned once that it was hard to read your blog with the white text on black. Well, I have problems with that at home on my laptop... like there are shadows or something. But here at work, no problem at all. Maybe it's just a laptop thing? Lydia should look on hers and see.
Happy Anniversary, by the way!
Hmmmm, so many things could go wrong. Ok, fine if Hilter didn't gain power, who's to say someone of like mind wouldn't.
It's like in Back to the Future. You can't mess with things or you may just undo yourself and your picture may fade away right in your hand!
Another interesting movie on this extreme idea is Timeline. The book is about as good as the movie in this case, so either or...
If you could go back in time, would you have words with Judas? Would you try to reason with Pontious Pilot? Or do some events just have to happen?
Although, Napolean Dynamite has a really good view for time travel...When they put on the machine it brought only immediate pain down under. Ha!
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